Articles | Volume 15, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-615-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-615-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Feb 2021
Research article |
| 09 Feb 2021
| 09 Feb 2021
Fractional snow-covered area: scale-independent peak of winter parameterization
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Yves Bühler
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Lucie Eberhard
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
César Deschamps-Berger
Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère, UPS/CNRS/IRD/INRAE/CNES, Toulouse, France
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d'Études de la Neige, 38000 Grenoble, France
Simon Gascoin
Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère, UPS/CNRS/IRD/INRAE/CNES, Toulouse, France
Marie Dumont
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d'Études de la Neige, 38000 Grenoble, France
Jesus Revuelto
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d'Études de la Neige, 38000 Grenoble, France
Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE–CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
Jeff S. Deems
National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Tobias Jonas
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
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Johanna Teresa Malle, Giulia Mazzotti, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, and Tobias Jonas
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The Cryosphere, 18, 3081–3116, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3081-2024, 2024
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Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, François Anctil, Tobias Jonas, and Étienne Tremblay
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2745–2765, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2745-2024, 2024
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Lahoucine Hanich, Ouiaam Lahnik, Simon Gascoin, Adnane Chakir, and Vincent Simonneaux
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Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Fanny Brun, and Marie Dumont
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1903–1929, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1903-2024, 2024
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Louis Le Toumelin, Isabelle Gouttevin, Clovis Galiez, and Nora Helbig
Nonlin. Processes Geophys., 31, 75–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-31-75-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-31-75-2024, 2024
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Josep Bonsoms, Juan I. López-Moreno, Esteban Alonso-González, César Deschamps-Berger, and Marc Oliva
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 245–264, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-245-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-245-2024, 2024
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Climate warming is changing mountain snowpack patterns, leading in some cases to rain-on-snow (ROS) events. Here we analyzed near-present ROS and its sensitivity to climate warming across the Pyrenees. ROS increases during the coldest months of the year but decreases in the warmest months and areas under severe warming due to snow cover depletion. Faster snow ablation is anticipated in the coldest and northern slopes of the range. Relevant implications in mountain ecosystem are anticipated.
Florian Zellweger, Eric Sulmoni, Johanna T. Malle, Andri Baltensweiler, Tobias Jonas, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Christian Ginzler, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Pieter De Frenne, David Frey, and Clare Webster
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The microclimatic conditions experienced by organisms living close to the ground are not well represented in currently used climate datasets derived from weather stations. Therefore, we measured and mapped ground microclimate temperatures at 10 m spatial resolution across Switzerland using a novel radiation model. Our results reveal a high variability in microclimates across different habitats and will help to better understand climate and land use impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Norbert Pirk, Marco Mazzolini, Désirée Treichler, Paul Leclercq, Sebastian Westermann, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4637–4659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, 2023
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Here we explore how to improve hyper-resolution (5 m) distributed snowpack simulations using sparse observations, which do not provide information from all the areas of the simulation domain. We propose a new way of propagating information throughout the simulations adapted to the hyper-resolution, which could also be used to improve simulations of other nature. The method has been implemented in an open-source data assimilation tool that is readily accessible to everyone.
Julien Brondex, Kévin Fourteau, Marie Dumont, Pascal Hagenmuller, Neige Calonne, François Tuzet, and Henning Löwe
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 7075–7106, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-7075-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-7075-2023, 2023
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Vapor diffusion is one of the main processes governing snowpack evolution, and it must be accounted for in models. Recent attempts to represent vapor diffusion in numerical models have faced several difficulties regarding computational cost and mass and energy conservation. Here, we develop our own finite-element software to explore numerical approaches and enable us to overcome these difficulties. We illustrate the capability of these approaches on established numerical benchmarks.
Samuel Morin, Hugues François, Marion Réveillet, Eric Sauquet, Louise Crochemore, Flora Branger, Étienne Leblois, and Marie Dumont
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4257–4277, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4257-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4257-2023, 2023
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Ski resorts are a key socio-economic asset of several mountain areas. Grooming and snowmaking are routinely used to manage the snow cover on ski pistes, but despite vivid debate, little is known about their impact on water resources downstream. This study quantifies, for the pilot ski resort La Plagne in the French Alps, the impact of grooming and snowmaking on downstream river flow. Hydrological impacts are mostly apparent at the seasonal scale and rather neutral on the annual scale.
Jean Emmanuel Sicart, Victor Ramseyer, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Catherine Coulaud, Guilhem Freche, Damien Soubeyrand, Yves Lejeune, Marie Dumont, Isabelle Gouttevin, Erwan Le Gac, Frédéric Berger, Jean-Matthieu Monnet, Laurent Borgniet, Éric Mermin, Nick Rutter, Clare Webster, and Richard Essery
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5121–5133, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023, 2023
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Forests strongly modify the accumulation, metamorphism and melting of snow in midlatitude and high-latitude regions. Two field campaigns during the winters 2016–17 and 2017–18 were conducted in a coniferous forest in the French Alps to study interactions between snow and vegetation. This paper presents the field site, instrumentation and collection methods. The observations include forest characteristics, meteorology, snow cover and snow interception by the canopy during precipitation events.
Dylan Reynolds, Ethan Gutmann, Bert Kruyt, Michael Haugeneder, Tobias Jonas, Franziska Gerber, Michael Lehning, and Rebecca Mott
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5049–5068, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5049-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5049-2023, 2023
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The challenge of running geophysical models is often compounded by the question of where to obtain appropriate data to give as input to a model. Here we present the HICAR model, a simplified atmospheric model capable of running at spatial resolutions of hectometers for long time series or over large domains. This makes physically consistent atmospheric data available at the spatial and temporal scales needed for some terrestrial modeling applications, for example seasonal snow forecasting.
Elisabeth D. Hafner, Frank Techel, Rodrigo Caye Daudt, Jan Dirk Wegner, Konrad Schindler, and Yves Bühler
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2895–2914, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2895-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2895-2023, 2023
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Oftentimes when objective measurements are not possible, human estimates are used instead. In our study, we investigate the reproducibility of human judgement for size estimates, the mappings of avalanches from oblique photographs and remotely sensed imagery. The variability that we found in those estimates is worth considering as it may influence results and should be kept in mind for several applications.
Leon J. Bührle, Mauro Marty, Lucie A. Eberhard, Andreas Stoffel, Elisabeth D. Hafner, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 17, 3383–3408, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3383-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3383-2023, 2023
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Information on the snow depth distribution is crucial for numerous applications in high-mountain regions. However, only specific measurements can accurately map the present variability of snow depths within complex terrain. In this study, we show the reliable processing of images from aeroplane to large (> 100 km2) detailed and accurate snow depth maps around Davos (CH). We use these maps to describe the existing snow depth distribution, other special features and potential applications.
Esteban Alonso-González, Simon Gascoin, Sara Arioli, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 17, 3329–3342, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3329-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3329-2023, 2023
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Data assimilation techniques are a promising approach to improve snowpack simulations in remote areas that are difficult to monitor. This paper studies the ability of satellite-observed land surface temperature to improve snowpack simulations through data assimilation. We show that it is possible to improve snowpack simulations, but the temporal resolution of the observations and the algorithm used are critical to obtain satisfactory results.
Adrian Ringenbach, Peter Bebi, Perry Bartelt, Andreas Rigling, Marc Christen, Yves Bühler, Andreas Stoffel, and Andrin Caviezel
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 779–801, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-779-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-779-2023, 2023
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Swiss researchers carried out repeated rockfall experiments with rocks up to human sizes in a steep mountain forest. This study focuses mainly on the effects of the rock shape and lying deadwood. In forested areas, cubic-shaped rocks showed a longer mean runout distance than platy-shaped rocks. Deadwood especially reduced the runouts of these cubic rocks. The findings enrich standard practices in modern rockfall hazard zoning assessments and strongly urge the incorporation of rock shape effects.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
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The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Ixeia Vidaller, Eñaut Izagirre, Luis Mariano del Rio, Esteban Alonso-González, Francisco Rojas-Heredia, Enrique Serrano, Ana Moreno, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Jesús Revuelto
The Cryosphere, 17, 3177–3192, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3177-2023, 2023
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The Aneto glacier, the largest glacier in the Pyrenees, has shown continuous surface and ice thickness losses in the last decades. In this study, we examine changes in its surface and ice thickness for 1981–2022 and the remaining ice thickness in 2020. During these 41 years, the glacier has shrunk by 64.7 %, and the ice thickness has decreased by 30.5 m on average. The mean ice thickness in 2022 was 11.9 m, compared to 32.9 m in 1981. The results highlight the critical situation of the glacier.
Marie Dumont, Simon Gascoin, Marion Réveillet, Didier Voisin, François Tuzet, Laurent Arnaud, Mylène Bonnefoy, Montse Bacardit Peñarroya, Carlo Carmagnola, Alexandre Deguine, Aurélie Diacre, Lukas Dürr, Olivier Evrard, Firmin Fontaine, Amaury Frankl, Mathieu Fructus, Laure Gandois, Isabelle Gouttevin, Abdelfateh Gherab, Pascal Hagenmuller, Sophia Hansson, Hervé Herbin, Béatrice Josse, Bruno Jourdain, Irene Lefevre, Gaël Le Roux, Quentin Libois, Lucie Liger, Samuel Morin, Denis Petitprez, Alvaro Robledano, Martin Schneebeli, Pascal Salze, Delphine Six, Emmanuel Thibert, Jürg Trachsel, Matthieu Vernay, Léo Viallon-Galinier, and Céline Voiron
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3075–3094, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3075-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3075-2023, 2023
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Saharan dust outbreaks have profound effects on ecosystems, climate, health, and the cryosphere, but the spatial deposition pattern of Saharan dust is poorly known. Following the extreme dust deposition event of February 2021 across Europe, a citizen science campaign was launched to sample dust on snow over the Pyrenees and the European Alps. This campaign triggered wide interest and over 100 samples. The samples revealed the high variability of the dust properties within a single event.
Johannes Aschauer, Adrien Michel, Tobias Jonas, and Christoph Marty
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4063–4081, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4063-2023, 2023
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Snow water equivalent is the mass of water stored in a snowpack. Based on exponential settling functions, the empirical snow density model SWE2HS is presented to convert time series of daily snow water equivalent into snow depth. The model has been calibrated with data from Switzerland and validated with independent data from the European Alps. A reference implementation of SWE2HS is available as a Python package.
César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, David Shean, Hannah Besso, Ambroise Guiot, and Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
The Cryosphere, 17, 2779–2792, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2779-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2779-2023, 2023
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The estimation of the snow depth in mountains is hard, despite the importance of the snowpack for human societies and ecosystems. We measured the snow depth in mountains by comparing the elevation of points measured with snow from the high-precision altimetric satellite ICESat-2 to the elevation without snow from various sources. Snow depths derived only from ICESat-2 were too sparse, but using external airborne/satellite products results in spatially richer and sufficiently precise snow depths.
Gregor Ortner, Michael Bründl, Chahan M. Kropf, Thomas Röösli, Yves Bühler, and David N. Bresch
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2089–2110, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2089-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2089-2023, 2023
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This paper presents a new approach to assess avalanche risk on a large scale in mountainous regions. It combines a large-scale avalanche modeling method with a state-of-the-art probabilistic risk tool. Over 40 000 individual avalanches were simulated, and a building dataset with over 13 000 single buildings was investigated. With this new method, risk hotspots can be identified and surveyed. This enables current and future risk analysis to assist decision makers in risk reduction and adaptation.
Giulia Mazzotti, Clare Webster, Louis Quéno, Bertrand Cluzet, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2099–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2099-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2099-2023, 2023
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This study analyses snow cover evolution in mountainous forested terrain based on 2 m resolution simulations from a process-based model. We show that snow accumulation patterns are controlled by canopy structure, but topographic shading modulates the timing of melt onset, and variability in weather can cause snow accumulation and melt patterns to vary between years. These findings advance our ability to predict how snow regimes will react to rising temperatures and forest disturbances.
Arthur Bayle, Bradley Z. Carlson, Anaïs Zimmer, Sophie Vallée, Antoine Rabatel, Edoardo Cremonese, Gianluca Filippa, Cédric Dentant, Christophe Randin, Andrea Mainetti, Erwan Roussel, Simon Gascoin, Dov Corenblit, and Philippe Choler
Biogeosciences, 20, 1649–1669, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1649-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1649-2023, 2023
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Glacier forefields have long provided ecologists with a model to study patterns of plant succession following glacier retreat. We used remote sensing approaches to study early succession dynamics as it allows to analyze the deglaciation, colonization, and vegetation growth within a single framework. We found that the heterogeneity of early succession dynamics is deterministic and can be explained well by local environmental context. This work has been done by an international consortium.
Oscar Dick, Léo Viallon-Galinier, François Tuzet, Pascal Hagenmuller, Mathieu Fructus, Benjamin Reuter, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 17, 1755–1773, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1755-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1755-2023, 2023
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Saharan dust deposition can drastically change the snow color, turning mountain landscapes into sepia scenes. Dust increases the absorption of solar energy by the snow cover and thus modifies the snow evolution and potentially the avalanche risk. Here we show that dust can lead to increased or decreased snowpack stability depending on the snow and meteorological conditions after the deposition event. We also show that wet-snow avalanches happen earlier in the season due to the presence of dust.
Adrian Ringenbach, Peter Bebi, Perry Bartelt, Andreas Rigling, Marc Christen, Yves Bühler, Andreas Stoffel, and Andrin Caviezel
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 1303–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1303-2022, 2022
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The presented automatic deadwood generator (ADG) allows us to consider deadwood in rockfall simulations in unprecedented detail. Besides three-dimensional fresh deadwood cones, we include old woody debris in rockfall simulations based on a higher compaction rate and lower energy absorption thresholds. Simulations including different deadwood states indicate that a 10-year-old deadwood pile has a higher protective capacity than a pre-storm forest stand.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Mohamed Wassim Baba, Jesús Revuelto, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, Joel Fiddes, Richard Essery, and Simon Gascoin
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 9127–9155, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-9127-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-9127-2022, 2022
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Snow cover plays an important role in many processes, but its monitoring is a challenging task. The alternative is usually to simulate the snowpack, and to improve these simulations one of the most promising options is to fuse simulations with available observations (data assimilation). In this paper we present MuSA, a data assimilation tool which facilitates the implementation of snow monitoring initiatives, allowing the assimilation of a wide variety of remotely sensed snow cover information.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Shashank Bhushan, Mylène Jacquemart, César Deschamps-Berger, Etienne Berthier, Simon Gascoin, David E. Shean, Dan H. Shugar, and Andreas Kääb
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3309–3327, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, 2022
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On 7 February 2021, a large rock–ice avalanche occurred in Chamoli, Indian Himalaya. The resulting debris flow swept down the nearby valley, leaving over 200 people dead or missing. We use a range of satellite datasets to investigate how the collapse area changed prior to collapse. We show that signs of instability were visible as early 5 years prior to collapse. However, it would likely not have been possible to predict the timing of the event from current satellite datasets.
John Sykes, Pascal Haegeli, and Yves Bühler
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3247–3270, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3247-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3247-2022, 2022
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Automated snow avalanche terrain mapping provides an efficient method for large-scale assessment of avalanche hazards, which informs risk management decisions for transportation and recreation. This research reduces the cost of developing avalanche terrain maps by using satellite imagery and open-source software as well as improving performance in forested terrain. The research relies on local expertise to evaluate accuracy, so the methods are broadly applicable in mountainous regions worldwide.
Leung Tsang, Michael Durand, Chris Derksen, Ana P. Barros, Do-Hyuk Kang, Hans Lievens, Hans-Peter Marshall, Jiyue Zhu, Joel Johnson, Joshua King, Juha Lemmetyinen, Melody Sandells, Nick Rutter, Paul Siqueira, Anne Nolin, Batu Osmanoglu, Carrie Vuyovich, Edward Kim, Drew Taylor, Ioanna Merkouriadi, Ludovic Brucker, Mahdi Navari, Marie Dumont, Richard Kelly, Rhae Sung Kim, Tien-Hao Liao, Firoz Borah, and Xiaolan Xu
The Cryosphere, 16, 3531–3573, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3531-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3531-2022, 2022
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Snow water equivalent (SWE) is of fundamental importance to water, energy, and geochemical cycles but is poorly observed globally. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements at X- and Ku-band can address this gap. This review serves to inform the broad snow research, monitoring, and application communities about the progress made in recent decades to move towards a new satellite mission capable of addressing the needs of the geoscience researchers and users.
Elisabeth D. Hafner, Patrick Barton, Rodrigo Caye Daudt, Jan Dirk Wegner, Konrad Schindler, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 16, 3517–3530, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3517-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3517-2022, 2022
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Knowing where avalanches occur is very important information for several disciplines, for example avalanche warning, hazard zonation and risk management. Satellite imagery can provide such data systematically over large regions. In our work we propose a machine learning model to automate the time-consuming manual mapping. Additionally, we investigate expert agreement for manual avalanche mapping, showing that our network is equally as good as the experts in identifying avalanches.
Michael Schirmer, Adam Winstral, Tobias Jonas, Paolo Burlando, and Nadav Peleg
The Cryosphere, 16, 3469–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022, 2022
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Rain is highly variable in time at a given location so that there can be both wet and dry climate periods. In this study, we quantify the effects of this natural climate variability and other sources of uncertainty on changes in flooding events due to rain on snow (ROS) caused by climate change. For ROS events with a significant contribution of snowmelt to runoff, the change due to climate was too small to draw firm conclusions about whether there are more ROS events of this important type.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 3357–3373, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3357-2022, 2022
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We compared the snowpack at two sites separated by less than 1 km, one in shrub tundra and the other one within the boreal forest. Even though the snowpack was twice as thick at the forested site, we found evidence that the vertical transport of water vapor from the bottom of the snowpack to its surface was important at both sites. The snow model Crocus simulates no water vapor fluxes and consequently failed to correctly simulate the observed density profiles.
Aubrey Miller, Pascal Sirguey, Simon Morris, Perry Bartelt, Nicolas Cullen, Todd Redpath, Kevin Thompson, and Yves Bühler
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2673–2701, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2673-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2673-2022, 2022
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Natural hazard modelers simulate mass movements to better anticipate the risk to people and infrastructure. These simulations require accurate digital elevation models. We test the sensitivity of a well-established snow avalanche model (RAMMS) to the source and spatial resolution of the elevation model. We find key differences in the digital representation of terrain greatly affect the simulated avalanche results, with implications for hazard planning.
Adrian Ringenbach, Elia Stihl, Yves Bühler, Peter Bebi, Perry Bartelt, Andreas Rigling, Marc Christen, Guang Lu, Andreas Stoffel, Martin Kistler, Sandro Degonda, Kevin Simmler, Daniel Mader, and Andrin Caviezel
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2433–2443, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2433-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2433-2022, 2022
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Forests have a recognized braking effect on rockfalls. The impact of lying deadwood, however, is mainly neglected. We conducted 1 : 1-scale rockfall experiments in three different states of a spruce forest to fill this knowledge gap: the original forest, the forest including lying deadwood and the cleared area. The deposition points clearly show that deadwood has a protective effect. We reproduced those experimental results numerically, considering three-dimensional cones to be deadwood.
Yves Bühler, Peter Bebi, Marc Christen, Stefan Margreth, Lukas Stoffel, Andreas Stoffel, Christoph Marty, Gregor Schmucki, Andrin Caviezel, Roderick Kühne, Stephan Wohlwend, and Perry Bartelt
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1825–1843, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1825-2022, 2022
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To calculate and visualize the potential avalanche hazard, we develop a method that automatically and efficiently pinpoints avalanche starting zones and simulate their runout for the entire canton of Grisons. The maps produced in this way highlight areas that could be endangered by avalanches and are extremely useful in multiple applications for the cantonal authorities, including the planning of new infrastructure, making alpine regions more safe.
Bertrand Cluzet, Matthieu Lafaysse, César Deschamps-Berger, Matthieu Vernay, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 1281–1298, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1281-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1281-2022, 2022
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The mountainous snow cover is highly variable at all temporal and spatial scales. Snow cover models suffer from large errors, while snowpack observations are sparse. Data assimilation combines them into a better estimate of the snow cover. A major challenge is to propagate information from observed into unobserved areas. This paper presents a spatialized version of the particle filter, in which information from in situ snow depth observations is successfully used to constrain nearby simulations.
Animesh K. Gain, Yves Bühler, Pascal Haegeli, Daniela Molinari, Mario Parise, David J. Peres, Joaquim G. Pinto, Kai Schröter, Ricardo M. Trigo, María Carmen Llasat, and Heidi Kreibich
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 985–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-985-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-985-2022, 2022
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To mark the 20th anniversary of Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS), an interdisciplinary and international journal dedicated to the public discussion and open-access publication of high-quality studies and original research on natural hazards and their consequences, we highlight 11 key publications covering major subject areas of NHESS that stood out within the past 20 years.
Hans Lievens, Isis Brangers, Hans-Peter Marshall, Tobias Jonas, Marc Olefs, and Gabriëlle De Lannoy
The Cryosphere, 16, 159–177, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022, 2022
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Snow depth observations at high spatial resolution from the Sentinel-1 satellite mission are presented over the European Alps. The novel observations can improve our knowledge of seasonal snow mass in areas with complex topography, where satellite-based estimates are currently lacking, and benefit a number of applications including water resource management, flood forecasting, and numerical weather prediction.
Georg Lackner, Florent Domine, Daniel F. Nadeau, Annie-Claude Parent, François Anctil, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 16, 127–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-127-2022, 2022
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The surface energy budget is the sum of all incoming and outgoing energy fluxes at the Earth's surface and has a key role in the climate. We measured all these fluxes for an Arctic snowpack and found that most incoming energy from radiation is counterbalanced by thermal radiation and heat convection while sublimation was negligible. Overall, the snow model Crocus was able to simulate the observed energy fluxes well.
Florent Veillon, Marie Dumont, Charles Amory, and Mathieu Fructus
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 7329–7343, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7329-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7329-2021, 2021
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In climate models, the snow albedo scheme generally calculates only a narrowband or broadband albedo. Therefore, we have developed the VALHALLA method to optimize snow spectral albedo calculations through the determination of spectrally fixed radiative variables. The development of VALHALLA v1.0 with the use of the snow albedo model TARTES and the spectral irradiance model SBDART indicates a considerable reduction in calculation time while maintaining an adequate accuracy of albedo values.
Natalie Brožová, Tommaso Baggio, Vincenzo D'Agostino, Yves Bühler, and Peter Bebi
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3539–3562, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3539-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3539-2021, 2021
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Surface roughness plays a great role in natural hazard processes but is not always well implemented in natural hazard modelling. The results of our study show how surface roughness can be useful in representing vegetation and ground structures, which are currently underrated. By including surface roughness in natural hazard modelling, we could better illustrate the processes and thus improve hazard mapping, which is crucial for infrastructure and settlement planning in mountainous areas.
Zacharie Barrou Dumont, Simon Gascoin, Olivier Hagolle, Michaël Ablain, Rémi Jugier, Germain Salgues, Florence Marti, Aurore Dupuis, Marie Dumont, and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 15, 4975–4980, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4975-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4975-2021, 2021
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Since 2020, the Copernicus High Resolution Snow & Ice Monitoring Service has distributed snow cover maps at 20 m resolution over Europe in near-real time. These products are derived from the Sentinel-2 Earth observation mission, with a revisit time of 5 d or less (cloud-permitting). Here we show the good accuracy of the snow detection over a wide range of regions in Europe, except in dense forest regions where the snow cover is hidden by the trees.
Nora Helbig, Michael Schirmer, Jan Magnusson, Flavia Mäder, Alec van Herwijnen, Louis Quéno, Yves Bühler, Jeff S. Deems, and Simon Gascoin
The Cryosphere, 15, 4607–4624, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4607-2021, 2021
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The snow cover spatial variability in mountains changes considerably over the course of a snow season. In applications such as weather, climate and hydrological predictions the fractional snow-covered area is therefore an essential parameter characterizing how much of the ground surface in a grid cell is currently covered by snow. We present a seasonal algorithm and a spatiotemporal evaluation suggesting that the algorithm can be applied in other geographic regions by any snow model application.
Marie Dumont, Frederic Flin, Aleksey Malinka, Olivier Brissaud, Pascal Hagenmuller, Philippe Lapalus, Bernard Lesaffre, Anne Dufour, Neige Calonne, Sabine Rolland du Roscoat, and Edward Ando
The Cryosphere, 15, 3921–3948, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3921-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3921-2021, 2021
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The role of snow microstructure in snow optical properties is only partially understood despite the importance of snow optical properties for the Earth system. We present a dataset combining bidirectional reflectance measurements and 3D images of snow. We show that the snow reflectance is adequately simulated using the distribution of the ice chord lengths in the snow microstructure and that the impact of the morphological type of snow is especially important when ice is highly absorptive.
Esteban Alonso-González, Ethan Gutmann, Kristoffer Aalstad, Abbas Fayad, Marine Bouchet, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4455–4471, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4455-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4455-2021, 2021
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Snow water resources represent a key hydrological resource for the Mediterranean regions, where most of the precipitation falls during the winter months. This is the case for Lebanon, where snowpack represents 31 % of the spring flow. We have used models to generate snow information corrected by means of remote sensing snow cover retrievals. Our results highlight the high temporal variability in the snowpack in Lebanon and its sensitivity to further warming caused by its hypsography.
Joachim Meyer, McKenzie Skiles, Jeffrey Deems, Kat Boremann, and David Shean
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-281, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-281, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Seasonally accumulated snow in the mountains forms a natural water reservoir which is challenging to measure in the rugged and remote terrain. Here, we use overlapping aerial images that model surface elevations using software to map snow depth by calculating the difference in surface elevations between two dates, one with snow and one without. Results demonstrate the utility of aerial images to improve our ability to capture the amount of water held as snow in remote and inaccessible locations.
Andreas Kääb, Mylène Jacquemart, Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Luc Girod, Christian Huggel, Daniel Falaschi, Felipe Ugalde, Dmitry Petrakov, Sergey Chernomorets, Mikhail Dokukin, Frank Paul, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, and Jeffrey S. Kargel
The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021
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Hardly recognized so far, giant catastrophic detachments of glaciers are a rare but great potential for loss of lives and massive damage in mountain regions. Several of the events compiled in our study involve volumes (up to 100 million m3 and more), avalanche speeds (up to 300 km/h), and reaches (tens of kilometres) that are hard to imagine. We show that current climate change is able to enhance associated hazards. For the first time, we elaborate a set of factors that could cause these events.
Daniela Krampe, Frank Kauker, Marie Dumont, and Andreas Herber
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-100, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Reliable and detailed Arctic snow data are limited. Evaluation of the performance of atmospheric reanalysis compared to measurements in northeast Greenland generally show good agreement. Both data sets are applied to an Alpine snow model and the performance for Arctic conditions is investigated: Simulated snow depth evolution is reliable, but vertical snow profiles show weaknesses. These are smaller with an adapted parametrisation for the density of newly fallen snow for harsh Arctic conditions.
Bertrand Cluzet, Matthieu Lafaysse, Emmanuel Cosme, Clément Albergel, Louis-François Meunier, and Marie Dumont
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 1595–1614, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-1595-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-1595-2021, 2021
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In the mountains, the combination of large model error and observation sparseness is a challenge for data assimilation. Here, we develop two variants of the particle filter (PF) in order to propagate the information content of observations into unobserved areas. By adjusting observation errors or exploiting background correlation patterns, we demonstrate the potential for partial observations of snow depth and surface reflectance to improve model accuracy with the PF in an idealised setting.
Elisabeth D. Hafner, Frank Techel, Silvan Leinss, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 15, 983–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, 2021
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Satellites prove to be very valuable for documentation of large-scale avalanche periods. To test reliability and completeness, which has not been satisfactorily verified before, we attempt a full validation of avalanches mapped from two optical sensors and one radar sensor. Our results demonstrate the reliability of high-spatial-resolution optical data for avalanche mapping, the suitability of radar for mapping of larger avalanches and the unsuitability of medium-spatial-resolution optical data.
Vincent Vionnet, Christopher B. Marsh, Brian Menounos, Simon Gascoin, Nicholas E. Wayand, Joseph Shea, Kriti Mukherjee, and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 15, 743–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, 2021
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Mountain snow cover provides critical supplies of fresh water to downstream users. Its accurate prediction requires inclusion of often-ignored processes. A multi-scale modelling strategy is presented that efficiently accounts for snow redistribution. Model accuracy is assessed via airborne lidar and optical satellite imagery. With redistribution the model captures the elevation–snow depth relation. Redistribution processes are required to reproduce spatial variability, such as around ridges.
Joachim Meyer, S. McKenzie Skiles, Jeffrey Deems, Kat Bormann, and David Shean
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-34, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-34, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Snow that accumulates seasonally in mountains forms a natural water reservoir and is difficult to measure in the rugged and remote landscapes. Here, we use modern software that models surface elevations from overlapping aerial images to map snow depth by calculating the difference in surface elevations between two dates, one with snow and one without. Results demonstrate the potential value of aerial images for understanding the amount of water held as snow in remote and inaccessible locations.
Lucie A. Eberhard, Pascal Sirguey, Aubrey Miller, Mauro Marty, Konrad Schindler, Andreas Stoffel, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 15, 69–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-69-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-69-2021, 2021
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In spring 2018 in the alpine Dischma valley (Switzerland), we tested different industrial photogrammetric platforms for snow depth mapping. These platforms were high-resolution satellites, an airplane, unmanned aerial systems and a terrestrial system. Therefore, this study gives a general overview of the accuracy and precision of the different photogrammetric platforms available in space and on earth and their use for snow depth mapping.
François Tuzet, Marie Dumont, Ghislain Picard, Maxim Lamare, Didier Voisin, Pierre Nabat, Mathieu Lafaysse, Fanny Larue, Jesus Revuelto, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 4553–4579, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4553-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4553-2020, 2020
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This study presents a field dataset collected over 30 d from two snow seasons at a Col du Lautaret site (French Alps). The dataset compares different measurements or estimates of light-absorbing particle (LAP) concentrations in snow, highlighting a gap in the current understanding of the measurement of these quantities. An ensemble snowpack model is then evaluated for this dataset estimating that LAPs shorten each snow season by around 10 d despite contrasting meteorological conditions.
Marius G. Floriancic, Wouter R. Berghuijs, Tobias Jonas, James W. Kirchner, and Peter Molnar
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5423–5438, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5423-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5423-2020, 2020
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Low river flows affect societies and ecosystems. Here we study how precipitation and potential evapotranspiration shape low flows across a network of 380 Swiss catchments. Low flows in these rivers typically result from below-average precipitation and above-average potential evapotranspiration. Extreme low flows result from long periods of the combined effects of both drivers.
Maxim Lamare, Marie Dumont, Ghislain Picard, Fanny Larue, François Tuzet, Clément Delcourt, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 3995–4020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3995-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3995-2020, 2020
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Terrain features found in mountainous regions introduce large errors into the calculation of the physical properties of snow using optical satellite images. We present a new model performing rapid calculations of solar radiation over snow-covered rugged terrain that we tested over a site in the French Alps. The results of the study show that all the interactions between sunlight and the terrain should be accounted for over snow-covered surfaces to correctly estimate snow properties from space.
El Mahdi El Khalki, Yves Tramblay, Christian Massari, Luca Brocca, Vincent Simonneaux, Simon Gascoin, and Mohamed El Mehdi Saidi
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2591–2607, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-2591-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-2591-2020, 2020
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In North Africa, the vulnerability to floods is high, and there is a need to improve the flood-forecasting systems. Remote-sensing and reanalysis data can palliate the lack of in situ measurements, in particular for soil moisture, which is a crucial parameter to consider when modeling floods. In this study we provide an evaluation of recent globally available soil moisture products for flood modeling in Morocco.
César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, Jeffrey Deems, Ethan Gutmann, Amaury Dehecq, David Shean, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 14, 2925–2940, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2925-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2925-2020, 2020
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We evaluate a recent method to map snow depth based on satellite photogrammetry. We compare it with accurate airborne laser-scanning measurements in the Sierra Nevada, USA. We find that satellite data capture the relationship between snow depth and elevation at the catchment scale and also small-scale features like snow drifts and avalanche deposits. We conclude that satellite photogrammetry stands out as a convenient method to estimate the spatial distribution of snow depth in high mountains.
C. Abou Chakra, J. Somma, S. Gascoin, P. Fanise, and L. Drapeau
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIII-B2-2020, 119–125, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B2-2020-119-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B2-2020-119-2020, 2020
Michael Kern, Robert Cullen, Bruno Berruti, Jerome Bouffard, Tania Casal, Mark R. Drinkwater, Antonio Gabriele, Arnaud Lecuyot, Michael Ludwig, Rolv Midthassel, Ignacio Navas Traver, Tommaso Parrinello, Gerhard Ressler, Erik Andersson, Cristina Martin-Puig, Ole Andersen, Annett Bartsch, Sinead Farrell, Sara Fleury, Simon Gascoin, Amandine Guillot, Angelika Humbert, Eero Rinne, Andrew Shepherd, Michiel R. van den Broeke, and John Yackel
The Cryosphere, 14, 2235–2251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2235-2020, 2020
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The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter will provide high-resolution sea ice thickness and land ice elevation measurements and the capability to determine the properties of snow cover on ice to serve operational products and services of direct relevance to the polar regions. This paper describes the mission objectives, identifies the key contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far as it is already defined – for the mission payload.
Silvan Leinss, Raphael Wicki, Sämi Holenstein, Simone Baffelli, and Yves Bühler
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1783–1803, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1783-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1783-2020, 2020
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To assess snow avalanche mapping with radar satellites in Switzerland, we compare 2 m resolution TerraSAR-X images, 10 m resolution Sentinel-1 images, and optical 1.5 m resolution SPOT-6 images. We found that radar satellites provide a valuable option to map at least larger avalanches, though avalanches are mapped only partially. By combining multiple orbits and polarizations from S1, we achieved mapping results of quality almost comparable to single high-resolution TerraSAR-X images.
Benjamin Walter, Hendrik Huwald, Josué Gehring, Yves Bühler, and Michael Lehning
The Cryosphere, 14, 1779–1794, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1779-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1779-2020, 2020
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We applied a horizontally mounted low-cost precipitation radar to measure velocities, frequency of occurrence, travel distances and turbulence characteristics of blowing snow off a mountain ridge. Our analysis provides a first insight into the potential of radar measurements for determining blowing snow characteristics, improves our understanding of mountain ridge blowing snow events and serves as a valuable data basis for validating coupled numerical weather and snowpack simulations.
Fanny Larue, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Inès Ollivier, Clément Delcourt, Maxim Lamare, François Tuzet, Jesus Revuelto, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 14, 1651–1672, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1651-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1651-2020, 2020
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The effect of surface roughness on snow albedo is often overlooked,
although a small change in albedo may strongly affect the surface energy
budget. By carving artificial roughness in an initially smooth snowpack,
we highlight albedo reductions of 0.03–0.04 at 700 nm and 0.06–0.10 at 1000 nm. A model using photon transport is developed to compute albedo considering roughness and applied to understand the impact of roughness as a function of snow properties and illumination conditions.
Nora Helbig, David Moeser, Michaela Teich, Laure Vincent, Yves Lejeune, Jean-Emmanuel Sicart, and Jean-Matthieu Monnet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2545–2560, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2545-2020, 2020
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Snow retained in the forest canopy (snow interception) drives spatial variability of the subcanopy snow accumulation. As such, accurately describing snow interception in models is of importance for various applications such as hydrological, weather, and climate predictions. We developed descriptions for the spatial mean and variability of snow interception. An independent evaluation demonstrated that the novel models can be applied in coarse land surface model grid cells.
Ghislain Picard, Marie Dumont, Maxim Lamare, François Tuzet, Fanny Larue, Roberta Pirazzini, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 1497–1517, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1497-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1497-2020, 2020
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Surface albedo is an essential variable of snow-covered areas. The measurement of this variable over a tilted terrain with levelled sensors is affected by artefacts that need to be corrected. Here we develop a theory of spectral albedo measurement over slopes from which we derive four correction algorithms. The comparison to in situ measurements taken in the Alps shows the adequacy of the theory, and the application of the algorithms shows systematic improvements.
Abbas Fayad and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1527–1542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1527-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1527-2020, 2020
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Seasonal snowpack is an essential water resource in Mediterranean mountains. Here, we look at the role of water percolation in simulating snow mass (SWE), for the first time, in Mount Lebanon. We use SnowModel, a distributed snow model, forced by station data. The main sources of uncertainty were attributed to rain–snow partitioning, transient winter snowmelt, and the subpixel snow cover. Yet, we show that a process-based model is suitable to simulate wet snowpack in Mediterranean mountains.
Marion Réveillet, Shelley MacDonell, Simon Gascoin, Christophe Kinnard, Stef Lhermitte, and Nicole Schaffer
The Cryosphere, 14, 147–163, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-147-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-147-2020, 2020
Yves Bühler, Elisabeth D. Hafner, Benjamin Zweifel, Mathias Zesiger, and Holger Heisig
The Cryosphere, 13, 3225–3238, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3225-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3225-2019, 2019
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We manually map 18 737 avalanche outlines based on SPOT6 optical satellite imagery acquired in January 2018. This is the most complete and accurate avalanche documentation of a large avalanche period covering a big part of the Swiss Alps. This unique dataset can be applied for the validation of other remote-sensing-based avalanche-mapping procedures and for updating avalanche databases to improve hazard maps.
Pascal Hagenmuller, Frederic Flin, Marie Dumont, François Tuzet, Isabel Peinke, Philippe Lapalus, Anne Dufour, Jacques Roulle, Laurent Pézard, Didier Voisin, Edward Ando, Sabine Rolland du Roscoat, and Pascal Charrier
The Cryosphere, 13, 2345–2359, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2345-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2345-2019, 2019
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Light–absorbing particles (LAPs, e.g. dust or black carbon) in snow are a potent climate forcing agent. Their presence darkens the snow surface and leads to higher solar energy absorption. Several studies have quantified this radiative impact by assuming that LAPs were motionless in dry snow, without any clear evidence of this assumption. Using time–lapse X–ray tomography, we show that temperature gradient metamorphism of snow induces downward motion of LAPs, leading to self–cleaning of snow.
Francois Tuzet, Marie Dumont, Laurent Arnaud, Didier Voisin, Maxim Lamare, Fanny Larue, Jesus Revuelto, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 13, 2169–2187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2169-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2169-2019, 2019
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Here we present a novel method to estimate the impurity content (e.g. black carbon or mineral dust) in Alpine snow based on measurements of light extinction profiles. This method is proposed as an alternative to chemical measurements, allowing rapid retrievals of vertical concentrations of impurities in the snowpack. In addition, the results provide a better understanding of the impact of impurities on visible light extinction in snow.
S. Ferrant, A. Selles, M. Le Page, A. AlBitar, S. Mermoz, S. Gascoin, A. Bouvet, S. Ahmed, and Y. Kerr
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3-W6, 285–292, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W6-285-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W6-285-2019, 2019
Cécile B. Ménard, Richard Essery, Alan Barr, Paul Bartlett, Jeff Derry, Marie Dumont, Charles Fierz, Hyungjun Kim, Anna Kontu, Yves Lejeune, Danny Marks, Masashi Niwano, Mark Raleigh, Libo Wang, and Nander Wever
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 865–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-865-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-865-2019, 2019
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This paper describes long-term meteorological and evaluation datasets from 10 reference sites for use in snow modelling. We demonstrate how data sharing is crucial to the identification of errors and how the publication of these datasets contributes to good practice, consistency, and reproducibility in geosciences. The ease of use, availability, and quality of the datasets will help model developers quantify and reduce model uncertainties and errors.
Simon Gascoin, Manuel Grizonnet, Marine Bouchet, Germain Salgues, and Olivier Hagolle
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 493–514, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-493-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-493-2019, 2019
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The Sentinel-2 satellite mission allows the observation of the land surface at unprecedented resolutions (20 m every 5 days). The frequency of observations can be further increased with Landsat-8. Here we describe a new collection of snow maps made from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 and evaluate their accuracy. The data are routinely produced over several mountain areas and freely distributed via http://theia.cnes.fr. These new data could unlock advances in our understanding of mountain ecosystems.
Biagio Di Mauro, Roberto Garzonio, Micol Rossini, Gianluca Filippa, Paolo Pogliotti, Marta Galvagno, Umberto Morra di Cella, Mirco Migliavacca, Giovanni Baccolo, Massimiliano Clemenza, Barbara Delmonte, Valter Maggi, Marie Dumont, François Tuzet, Matthieu Lafaysse, Samuel Morin, Edoardo Cremonese, and Roberto Colombo
The Cryosphere, 13, 1147–1165, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1147-2019, 2019
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The snow albedo reduction due to dust from arid regions alters the melting dynamics of the snowpack, resulting in earlier snowmelt. We estimate up to 38 days of anticipated snow disappearance for a season that was characterized by a strong dust deposition event. This process has a series of further impacts. For example, earlier snowmelts may alter the hydrological cycle in the Alps, induce higher sensitivity to late summer drought, and finally impact vegetation and animal phenology.
Andrin Caviezel, Sophia E. Demmel, Adrian Ringenbach, Yves Bühler, Guang Lu, Marc Christen, Claire E. Dinneen, Lucie A. Eberhard, Daniel von Rickenbach, and Perry Bartelt
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 199–210, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-199-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-199-2019, 2019
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In rockfall hazard assessment, knowledge about the precise flight path of assumed boulders is vital for its accuracy. We present the full reconstruction of artificially induced rockfall events. The extracted information such as exact velocities, jump heights and lengths provide detailed insights into how rotating rocks interact with the ground. The information serves as future calibration of rockfall modelling tools with the goal of even more realistic modelling predictions.
Yves Lejeune, Marie Dumont, Jean-Michel Panel, Matthieu Lafaysse, Philippe Lapalus, Erwan Le Gac, Bernard Lesaffre, and Samuel Morin
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 71–88, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-71-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-71-2019, 2019
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This paper introduces and provides access to a daily (1960–2017) and an hourly (1993–2017) dataset of snow and meteorological data measured at the Col de Porte site, 1325 m a.s.l, Charteuse, France. The daily dataset can be used to quantify the effect of climate change at this site, with a reduction of the mean snow depth of 39 cm from 1960–1990 to 1990–2017. The daily and hourly datasets are useful and appropriate for driving and evaluating a snowpack model over such a long period.
Yves Bühler, Daniel von Rickenbach, Andreas Stoffel, Stefan Margreth, Lukas Stoffel, and Marc Christen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3235–3251, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3235-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3235-2018, 2018
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Coping with avalanche hazard has a long tradition in alpine countries. Hazard mapping has proven to be one of the most effective methods. In this paper we develop a new approach to automatically delineate avalanche release areas and connect them to state-of-the-art numerical avalanche simulations. This enables computer-based hazard indication mapping over large areas such as entire countries. This is of particular interest where hazard maps do not yet exist, such as in developing countries.
Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Jeffrey Kargel, Andreas Kääb, Simon Gascoin, Gregory Leonard, Etienne Berthier, Alina Karki, and Tandong Yao
The Cryosphere, 12, 2883–2900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2883-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2883-2018, 2018
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In Tibet, two glaciers suddenly collapsed in summer 2016 and produced two gigantic ice avalanches, killing nine people. This kind of phenomenon is extremely rare. By combining a detailed modelling study and high-resolution satellite observations, we show that the event was triggered by an increasing meltwater supply in the fine-grained material underneath the two glaciers. Contrary to what is often thought, this event is not linked to a change in the thermal condition at the glacier base.
Alexander Kokhanovsky, Maxim Lamare, Biagio Di Mauro, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Marie Dumont, François Tuzet, Carsten Brockmann, and Jason E. Box
The Cryosphere, 12, 2371–2382, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2371-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2371-2018, 2018
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This work presents a new technique with which to derive the snow microphysical and optical properties from snow spectral reflectance measurements. The technique is robust and easy to use, and it does not require the extraction of snow samples from a given snowpack. It can be used in processing satellite imagery over extended fresh dry, wet and polluted snowfields.
Thomas Condom, Marie Dumont, Lise Mourre, Jean Emmanuel Sicart, Antoine Rabatel, Alessandra Viani, and Alvaro Soruco
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 7, 169–178, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-169-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-169-2018, 2018
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This study presents a new instrument called a low-cost albedometer (LCA) composed of two illuminance sensors. The ratio between reflected vs. incident illuminances is called the albedo index and can be compared with actual albedo values. We demonstrate that our system performs well and thus provides relevant opportunities to document spatiotemporal changes in the surface albedo from direct observations at the scale of an entire catchment at a low cost.
C. Mulsow, R. Kenner, Y. Bühler, A. Stoffel, and H.-G. Maas
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2, 739–744, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-739-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-739-2018, 2018
Marion Réveillet, Delphine Six, Christian Vincent, Antoine Rabatel, Marie Dumont, Matthieu Lafaysse, Samuel Morin, Vincent Vionnet, and Maxime Litt
The Cryosphere, 12, 1367–1386, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1367-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1367-2018, 2018
Esteban Alonso-González, J. Ignacio López-Moreno, Simon Gascoin, Matilde García-Valdecasas Ojeda, Alba Sanmiguel-Vallelado, Francisco Navarro-Serrano, Jesús Revuelto, Antonio Ceballos, María Jesús Esteban-Parra, and Richard Essery
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 303–315, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-303-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-303-2018, 2018
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We present a new daily gridded snow depth and snow water equivalent database over the Iberian Peninsula from 1980 to 2014 structured in common elevation bands. The data have proved their consistency with in situ observations and remote sensing data (MODIS). The presented dataset may be useful for many applications, including land management, hydrometeorological studies, phenology of flora and fauna, winter tourism and risk management.
Lucas Davaze, Antoine Rabatel, Yves Arnaud, Pascal Sirguey, Delphine Six, Anne Letreguilly, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 12, 271–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-271-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-271-2018, 2018
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About 150 of the 250 000 inventoried glaciers are currently monitored with surface mass balance (SMB) measurements. To increase this number, we propose a method to retrieve annual and summer SMB from optical satellite imagery, with an application over 30 glaciers in the French Alps. Computing the glacier-wide averaged albedo allows us to reconstruct annual and summer SMB of most of the studied glaciers, highlighting the potential of this method to retrieve SMB of unmonitored glaciers.
Jesús Revuelto, Cesar Azorin-Molina, Esteban Alonso-González, Alba Sanmiguel-Vallelado, Francisco Navarro-Serrano, Ibai Rico, and Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 993–1005, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-993-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-993-2017, 2017
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This work describes the snow and meteorological data set available for the Izas Experimental Catchment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees, from the 2011 to 2017 snow seasons. The climatic data set consists of (i) continuous meteorological variables acquired from an automatic weather station (AWS), (ii) detailed information on snow depth distribution collected with a terrestrial laser scanner for certain dates and (iii) time-lapse images showing the evolution of the snow-covered area.
Francois Tuzet, Marie Dumont, Matthieu Lafaysse, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Didier Voisin, Yves Lejeune, Luc Charrois, Pierre Nabat, and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 11, 2633–2653, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2633-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2633-2017, 2017
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Light-absorbing impurities deposited on snow, such as soot or dust, strongly modify its evolution. We implemented impurity deposition and evolution in a detailed snowpack model, thereby expanding the reach of such models into addressing the subtle interplays between snow physics and impurities' optical properties. Model results were evaluated based on innovative field observations at an Alpine site. This allows future investigations in the fields of climate, hydrology and avalanche prediction.
Jordi Etchanchu, Vincent Rivalland, Simon Gascoin, Jérôme Cros, Tiphaine Tallec, Aurore Brut, and Gilles Boulet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5693–5708, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5693-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5693-2017, 2017
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This study assesses the contribution of vegetation dynamics and land use products from high-resolution remote sensing data in the soil–vegetation–atmosphere Transfer ISBA model. We used a field-scale approach (each field is a computation cell) to take advantage of the resolution. The simulations done over an agricultural area in southwestern France showed that integrating such products leads to an improvement of the hydrometeorological fluxes like evapotranspiration or drainage.
Karolina Korzeniowska, Yves Bühler, Mauro Marty, and Oliver Korup
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1823–1836, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1823-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1823-2017, 2017
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In this study, we have focused on automatically detecting avalanches and classifying them into release zones, tracks, and run-out zones based on aerial imagery using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach. We compared the results with manually mapped avalanche polygons, and obtained a user’s accuracy of > 0.9 and a Cohen’s kappa of 0.79–0.85. Testing the method for a larger area of 226.3 km2, we estimated producer’s and user’s accuracies of 0.61 and 0.78, respectively.
Dominik Schneider, Noah P. Molotch, and Jeffrey S. Deems
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-167, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-167, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
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New data from the ongoing Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) provides an unprecedented look at the spatial and temporal patterns of snow water content (SWE) over multiple years in California, USA. We found that relationships between SWE, snow covered area, and topography transfer between years at accuracy levels equivalent to those from models generated from ASO data collected on the day of interest. This research provides a first attempt at extending the value of ASO beyond the observations.
Roman Juras, Sebastian Würzer, Jirka Pavlásek, Tomáš Vitvar, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4973–4987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4973-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4973-2017, 2017
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This research investigates the rainwater dynamics in the snowpack under artificial rain-on-snow events. Deuterium-enriched water was sprayed on the isolated snowpack and rainwater was further identified in the runoff. We found that runoff from cold snowpack was created faster than from the ripe snowpack. Runoff from the cold snowpack also contained more rainwater compared to the ripe snowpack. These results are valuable for further snowpack runoff forecasting.
Jesús Revuelto, Grégoire Lecourt, Matthieu Lafaysse, Isabella Zin, Luc Charrois, Vincent Vionnet, Marie Dumont, Antoine Rabatel, Delphine Six, Thomas Condom, Samuel Morin, Alessandra Viani, and Pascal Sirguey
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-184, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-184, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We evaluated distributed and semi-distributed modeling approaches to simulating the spatial and temporal evolution of snow and ice over an extended mountain catchment, using the Crocus snowpack model. The distributed approach simulated the snowpack dynamics on a 250-m grid, enabling inclusion of terrain shadowing effects. The semi-distributed approach simulated the snowpack dynamics for discrete topographic classes characterized by elevation range, aspect, and slope.
Abbas Fayad, Simon Gascoin, Ghaleb Faour, Pascal Fanise, Laurent Drapeau, Janine Somma, Ali Fadel, Ahmad Al Bitar, and Richard Escadafal
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 573–587, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-573-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-573-2017, 2017
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Snowmelt plays a key role in the replenishment of the karst groundwater in Lebanon. The proper estimation of the water contained in the snowpack is one of Lebanon's most challenging questions. In this paper, we present continuous meteorological and snow course observations for the first time in the snow-dominated regions of Mount Lebanon. This new dataset can be used to feed an advanced snowpack model and is the first step towards a better evaluation of the snowmelt in Lebanon.
Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, Sverrir Guðmundsson, Peter L. Langen, Finnur Pálsson, Ruth Mottram, Simon Gascoin, and Helgi Björnsson
The Cryosphere, 11, 1665–1684, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1665-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1665-2017, 2017
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The regional climate model HIRHAM5 is evaluated over Vatnajökull, Iceland, using automatic weather stations and mass balance observations from 1995 to 2014. From this we asses whether the model can be used to reconstruct the mass balance of the glacier. We find that the simulated energy balance is underestimated overall, but it has been improved by using a new albedo scheme. The specific mass balance is reconstructed back to 1980, thus expanding on the observational records of the mass balance.
Matthieu Lafaysse, Bertrand Cluzet, Marie Dumont, Yves Lejeune, Vincent Vionnet, and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 11, 1173–1198, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1173-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1173-2017, 2017
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Physically based multilayer snowpack models suffer from various modelling errors. To represent these errors, we built the new multiphysical ensemble system ESCROC by implementing new representations of different physical processes in a coupled multilayer ground/snowpack model. This system is a promising tool to integrate snow modelling errors in ensemble forecasting and ensemble assimilation systems in support of avalanche hazard forecasting and other snowpack modelling applications.
Marie Dumont, Laurent Arnaud, Ghislain Picard, Quentin Libois, Yves Lejeune, Pierre Nabat, Didier Voisin, and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 11, 1091–1110, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1091-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1091-2017, 2017
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Snow spectral albedo in the visible/near-infrared range has been continuously measured during a winter season at Col de Porte alpine site (French Alps; 45.30° N, 5.77°E; 1325 m a.s.l.). This study highlights that the variations of spectral albedo can be successfully explained by variations of the following snow surface variables: snow-specific surface area, effective light-absorbing impurities content, presence of liquid water and slope.
Sebastian Würzer, Nander Wever, Roman Juras, Michael Lehning, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1741–1756, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1741-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1741-2017, 2017
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We discuss a dual-domain water transport model in a physics-based snowpack model to account for preferential flow (PF) in addition to matrix flow. So far no operationally used snow model has explicitly accounted for PF. The new approach is compared to existing water transport models and validated against in situ data from sprinkling and natural rain-on-snow (ROS) events. Our work demonstrates the benefit of considering PF in modelling hourly snowpack runoff, especially during ROS conditions.
Nena Griessinger, Franziska Mohr, and Tobias Jonas
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-295, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-295, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We demonstrate the potential of ground penetrating radar for efficient and accurate measurements of snow depth and snow water equivalent when liquid water is present in the snowpack. We were able to derive snow ablation rates with high accuracy from repeated measurements.
We present the design of our light-weight setup consisting of a common-mid-point assembly on a plastic sled, which is mobile even in complex heterogeneous terrain like our investigated field sites in the eastern Swiss Alps.
Cesar Vera Valero, Nander Wever, Yves Bühler, Lukas Stoffel, Stefan Margreth, and Perry Bartelt
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 2303–2323, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2303-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2303-2016, 2016
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Simulating medium–small avalanches operationally on a mine service road allows avalanche hazard to be assessed on the mine transportation route. Using accurate data from the snow cover and the avalanche paths, the avalanche dynamic model developed can calculate the avalanche runout distances and snow volumes of the deposits. The model does not predict whether the avalanche is coming or not, but if it comes, the model will predict runout distances and mass of the deposits.
Pascal Sirguey, Holly Still, Nicolas J. Cullen, Marie Dumont, Yves Arnaud, and Jonathan P. Conway
The Cryosphere, 10, 2465–2484, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2465-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2465-2016, 2016
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Fourteen years of satellite observations are used to monitor the albedo of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand and estimate annual and seasonal balances. This confirms the governing role of the summer balance in the annual balance and allows the reconstruction of the annual balance to 1977 using a photographic record of the snowline. The longest mass balance record for a New Zealand glacier shows negative balances after 2008, yielding a loss of 35 % of the gain accumulated over the previous 30 years.
Nena Griessinger, Jan Seibert, Jan Magnusson, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3895–3905, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3895-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3895-2016, 2016
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In Alpine catchments, snowmelt is a major contribution to runoff. In this study, we address the question of whether the performance of a hydrological model can be enhanced by integrating data from an external snow monitoring system. To this end, a hydrological model was driven with snowmelt input from snow models of different complexities. Best performance was obtained with a snow model, which utilized data assimilation, in particular for catchments at higher elevations and for snow-rich years.
Paul Hublart, Denis Ruelland, Inaki García de Cortázar-Atauri, Simon Gascoin, Stef Lhermitte, and Antonio Ibacache
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3691–3717, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3691-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3691-2016, 2016
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Our paper explores the reliability of conceptual catchment models in the dry Andes. First, we show that explicitly accounting for irrigation water use improves streamflow predictions during dry years. Second, we show that sublimation losses can be easily incorporated into temperature-based melt models without increasing model complexity too much. Our work also highlights areas requiring additional research, including the need for a better conceptualization of runoff generation processes.
Louis Quéno, Vincent Vionnet, Ingrid Dombrowski-Etchevers, Matthieu Lafaysse, Marie Dumont, and Fatima Karbou
The Cryosphere, 10, 1571–1589, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1571-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1571-2016, 2016
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Simulations are carried out in the Pyrenees with the snowpack model Crocus, driven by meteorological forecasts from the model AROME at kilometer resolution. The evaluation is done with ground-based measurements, satellite data and reference simulations. Studying daily snow depth variations allows to separate different physical processes affecting the snowpack. We show the benefits of AROME kilometric resolution and dynamical behavior in terms of snowpack spatial variability in a mountain range.
R. Marti, S. Gascoin, E. Berthier, M. de Pinel, T. Houet, and D. Laffly
The Cryosphere, 10, 1361–1380, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1361-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1361-2016, 2016
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To date, there is no definitive approach to map snow depth in mountainous areas from spaceborne sensors. We used very-high-resolution stereo satellites imagery (Pléiades) to generate a map of snow depth in a small Pyrenean catchment. The validation results are promising and open the possibility to retrieve the snow depth at a metric horizontal resolution in remote mountainous areas, even when no field data are available.
Ghislain Picard, Quentin Libois, Laurent Arnaud, Gauthier Verin, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 10, 1297–1316, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1297-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1297-2016, 2016
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Albedo of snow surfaces depends on snow grain size. By measuring albedo during 3 years at Dome C in Antarctica with an automatic spectroradiometer, we were able to monitor the snow specific surface area and show an overall growth of the grains in spring and summer followed by an accumulation of small-grained snow from mid-summer. This study focuses on the uncertainties due to the spectroradiometer and concludes that the observed variations are significant with respect to the precision.
Richard Essery, Anna Kontu, Juha Lemmetyinen, Marie Dumont, and Cécile B. Ménard
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 219–227, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-219-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-219-2016, 2016
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Physically based models that predict the properties of snow on the ground are used in many applications, but meteorological input data required by these models are hard to obtain in cold regions. Monitoring at the Sodankyla research station allows construction of model input and evaluation datasets covering several years for the first time in the Arctic. The data are used to show that a sophisticated snow model developed for warmer and wetter sites can perform well in very different conditions.
Yves Bühler, Marc S. Adams, Ruedi Bösch, and Andreas Stoffel
The Cryosphere, 10, 1075–1088, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1075-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1075-2016, 2016
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We map the distribution of snow depth at two alpine test sites with unmanned aerial system (UAS) data by applying structure-from-motion photogrammetry. In comparison with manual snow depth measurements, we find high accuracies of 7 to 15 cm for the snow depth values. We can prove that photogrammetric measurements on snow-covered terrain are possible. Underlaying vegetation such as bushes and grass leads to an underestimation of snow depth in the range of 10 to 50 cm.
Luc Charrois, Emmanuel Cosme, Marie Dumont, Matthieu Lafaysse, Samuel Morin, Quentin Libois, and Ghislain Picard
The Cryosphere, 10, 1021–1038, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1021-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1021-2016, 2016
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This study investigates the assimilation of optical reflectances, snowdepth data and both combined into a multilayer snowpack model. Data assimilation is performed with an ensemble-based method, the Sequential Importance Resampling Particle filter. Experiments assimilating only synthetic data are conducted at one point in the French Alps, the Col du Lautaret, over five hydrological years. Results of the assimilation experiments show improvements of the snowpack bulk variables estimates.
Lucie Bazin, Amaelle Landais, Emilie Capron, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Catherine Ritz, Ghislain Picard, Jean Jouzel, Marie Dumont, Markus Leuenberger, and Frédéric Prié
Clim. Past, 12, 729–748, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-729-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-729-2016, 2016
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We present new measurements of δO2⁄N2 and δ18Oatm performed on well-conserved ice from EDC covering MIS5 and between 380 and 800 ka. The combination of the observation of a 100 ka periodicity in the new δO2⁄N2 record with a MIS5 multi-site multi-proxy study has revealed a potential influence of local climatic parameters on δO2⁄N2. Moreover, we propose that the varying delay between d18Oatm and precession for the last 800 ka is affected by the occurrence of ice sheet discharge events.
Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, Jesús Revuelto, Ibai Rico, Javier Chueca-Cía, Asunción Julián, Alfredo Serreta, Enrique Serrano, Sergio Martín Vicente-Serrano, Cesar Azorin-Molina, Esteban Alonso-González, and José María García-Ruiz
The Cryosphere, 10, 681–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016, 2016
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This paper analyzes the evolution of the Monte Perdido Glacier, Spanish Pyrenees, since 1981. Changes in ice volume were estimated by geodetic methods and terrestrial laser scanning. An acceleration in ice thinning is detected during the 21st century. Local climatic changes observed during the study period do not seem sufficient to explain the acceleration. The strong disequilibrium between the glacier and the current climate and feedback mechanisms seems to be the most plausible explanation.
Michal Jenicek, Jan Seibert, Massimiliano Zappa, Maria Staudinger, and Tobias Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 859–874, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-859-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-859-2016, 2016
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We quantified how long snowmelt affects runoff, and we estimated the sensitivity of catchments to changes in snowpack. This is relevant as the increase of air temperature might cause decreased snow storage. We used time series from 14 catchments in Switzerland. On average, a decrease of maximum snow storage by 10 % caused a decrease of minimum discharge in July by 2 to 9 %. The results showed a higher sensitivity of summer low flow to snow in alpine catchments compared to pre-alpine catchments.
Q. Libois, G. Picard, L. Arnaud, M. Dumont, M. Lafaysse, S. Morin, and E. Lefebvre
The Cryosphere, 9, 2383–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2383-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2383-2015, 2015
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The albedo and surface energy budget of the Antarctic Plateau are largely determined by snow specific surface area. The latter experiences substantial daily-to-seasonal variations in response to meteorological conditions. In particular, it decreases by a factor three in summer, causing a drop in albedo. These variations are monitored from in situ and remote sensing observations at Dome C. For the first time, they are also simulated with a snowpack evolution model adapted to Antarctic conditions.
R. Marti, S. Gascoin, T. Houet, O. Ribière, D. Laffly, T. Condom, S. Monnier, M. Schmutz, C. Camerlynck, J. P. Tihay, J. M. Soubeyroux, and P. René
The Cryosphere, 9, 1773–1795, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1773-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1773-2015, 2015
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Pyrenean glaciers are currently the southernmost glaciers in Europe. Using an exceptional archive of historical data sets and recent accurate observations, we propose the reconstruction of the length, area, elevation, and mass balance of Ossoue Glacier (French Pyrenees) since the Little Ice Age. We show that its evolution is in good agreement with climatic data. Assuming that the current ablation rate stays constant, Ossoue Glacier will disappear midway through the 21st century.
F. Kobierska, T. Jonas, J. W. Kirchner, and S. M. Bernasconi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3681–3693, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3681-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3681-2015, 2015
E. Nadal-Romero, J. Revuelto, P. Errea, and J. I. López-Moreno
SOIL, 1, 561–573, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-561-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-561-2015, 2015
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Geomatic techniques have been routinely applied in erosion studies, providing the opportunity to build high-resolution topographic models.The aim of this study is to assess and compare the functioning of terrestrial laser scanner and close range photogrammetry techniques to evaluate erosion and deposition processes in a humid badlands area.
Our results demonstrated that north slopes experienced more intense and faster dynamics than south slopes as well as the highest erosion rates.
I. Gouttevin, M. Lehning, T. Jonas, D. Gustafsson, and M. Mölder
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2379–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2379-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2379-2015, 2015
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We improve the canopy module of a very detailed snow model, SNOWPACK, with a view of a more consistent representation of the sub-canopy energy balance with regard to the snowpack.
We show that adding a formulation of (i) the canopy heat capacity and (ii) a lowermost canopy layer (alike trunk + solar shaded leaves) yields significant improvement in the representation of sub-canopy incoming long-wave radiations, especially at nighttime. This energy is an important contributor to snowmelt.
S. Gascoin, O. Hagolle, M. Huc, L. Jarlan, J.-F. Dejoux, C. Szczypta, R. Marti, and R. Sánchez
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2337–2351, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2337-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2337-2015, 2015
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There is a good agreement between the MODIS snow products and observations from automatic stations and Landsat snow maps in the Pyrenees. The optimal thresholds for which a MODIS pixel is marked as snow-covered are 40mm in water equivalent and 150mm in snow depth.
We generate a gap-filled snow cover climatology for the Pyrenees. We compute the mean snow cover duration by elevation and aspect classes. We show anomalous snow patterns in 2012 and consequences on hydropower production.
C. Vera Valero, Y. Bühler, and P. Bartelt
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-3-2883-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-3-2883-2015, 2015
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Wet snow avalanches can initiate from large fracture slabs or small point releases. Point
release wet snow avalanches can reach dangerous proportions when they initiate on steep and long avalanche paths and entrain warm moist snow. In this paper we investigate the dynamics of point release wet snow avalanches by applying a numerical model to simulate documented case studies on high altitude slopes in the Chilean Andes. The model simulated correctly flow height, velocity and avalanche run out.
N. Helbig, A. van Herwijnen, J. Magnusson, and T. Jonas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1339–1351, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1339-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1339-2015, 2015
F. Brun, M. Dumont, P. Wagnon, E. Berthier, M. F. Azam, J. M. Shea, P. Sirguey, A. Rabatel, and Al. Ramanathan
The Cryosphere, 9, 341–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-341-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-341-2015, 2015
Y. Bühler, M. Marty, L. Egli, J. Veitinger, T. Jonas, P. Thee, and C. Ginzler
The Cryosphere, 9, 229–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-229-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-229-2015, 2015
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We are able to map snow depth over large areas ( > 100km2) using airborne digital photogrammetry. Digital photogrammetry is more economical than airborne Laser Scanning but slightly less accurate. Comparisons to independent snow depth measurements reveal an accuracy of about 30cm. Spatial continuous mapping of snow depth is a major step forward compared to point measurements usually applied today. Limitations are steep slopes (> 50°) and areas covered by trees and scrubs.
T. Grünewald, Y. Bühler, and M. Lehning
The Cryosphere, 8, 2381–2394, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2381-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2381-2014, 2014
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Elevation dependencies of snow depth are analysed based on snow depth maps obtained from airborne remote sensing. Elevation gradients are characterised by a specific shape: an increase of snow depth with elevation is followed by a distinct peak at a certain level and a decrease in the highest elevations. We attribute this shape to an increase of precipitation with altitude, which is modified by topographical-induced redistribution processes of the snow on the ground (wind, gravitation).
S. Ferrant, S. Gascoin, A. Veloso, J. Salmon-Monviola, M. Claverie, V. Rivalland, G. Dedieu, V. Demarez, E. Ceschia, J.-L. Probst, P. Durand, and V. Bustillo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 5219–5237, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5219-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5219-2014, 2014
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A set of high spatial and temporal satellite images have been used to spatially calibrate crop growth within an agro-hydrological model dedicated to nitrogen contamination of stream water. This type of spatial calibration greatly improved the simulation of nitrogen plant uptake and better constrained nutrient fluxes in the river. This is an example of the benefit of the forthcoming Sentinel-2 high resolution optical image series that will be acquired every 4/5 days over continental surfaces.
N. Wever, T. Jonas, C. Fierz, and M. Lehning
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4657–4669, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4657-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4657-2014, 2014
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We simulated a severe rain-on-snow event in the Swiss Alps in October 2011 with a detailed multi-layer snow cover model. We found a strong modulating effect of the incoming rainfall signal by the snow cover. Initially, water from both rainfall and snow melt was absorbed by the snowpack. But once the snowpack released the stored water, simulated outflow rates exceeded rainfall and snow melt rates. The simulations suggest that structural snowpack changes enhanced the outflow during this event.
J. Revuelto, J. I. López-Moreno, C. Azorin-Molina, and S. M. Vicente-Serrano
The Cryosphere, 8, 1989–2006, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1989-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1989-2014, 2014
X. V. Phan, L. Ferro-Famil, M. Gay, Y. Durand, M. Dumont, S. Morin, S. Allain, G. D'Urso, and A. Girard
The Cryosphere, 8, 1975–1987, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1975-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1975-2014, 2014
P. Ginot, M. Dumont, S. Lim, N. Patris, J.-D. Taupin, P. Wagnon, A. Gilbert, Y. Arnaud, A. Marinoni, P. Bonasoni, and P. Laj
The Cryosphere, 8, 1479–1496, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1479-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1479-2014, 2014
J.-C. Gallet, F. Domine, J. Savarino, M. Dumont, and E. Brun
The Cryosphere, 8, 1205–1215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1205-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1205-2014, 2014
J.-C. Gallet, F. Domine, and M. Dumont
The Cryosphere, 8, 1139–1148, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1139-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1139-2014, 2014
A. Aydin, Y. Bühler, M. Christen, and I. Gürer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1145–1154, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1145-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1145-2014, 2014
H. C. Steen-Larsen, V. Masson-Delmotte, M. Hirabayashi, R. Winkler, K. Satow, F. Prié, N. Bayou, E. Brun, K. M. Cuffey, D. Dahl-Jensen, M. Dumont, M. Guillevic, S. Kipfstuhl, A. Landais, T. Popp, C. Risi, K. Steffen, B. Stenni, and A. E. Sveinbjörnsdottír
Clim. Past, 10, 377–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-377-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-377-2014, 2014
F. Hüsler, T. Jonas, M. Riffler, J. P. Musial, and S. Wunderle
The Cryosphere, 8, 73–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-73-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-73-2014, 2014
Q. Libois, G. Picard, J. L. France, L. Arnaud, M. Dumont, C. M. Carmagnola, and M. D. King
The Cryosphere, 7, 1803–1818, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1803-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1803-2013, 2013
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Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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Related subject area
Discipline: Snow | Subject: Snow Hydrology
Aspect controls on the spatial redistribution of snow water equivalence through the lateral flow of liquid water in a subalpine catchment
Exploring how Sentinel-1 wet-snow maps can inform fully distributed physically based snowpack models
Impact of intercepted and sub-canopy snow microstructure on snowpack response to rain-on-snow events under a boreal canopy
Towards large-scale daily snow density mapping with spatiotemporally aware model and multi-source data
Drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) application to snow hydrology
Natural climate variability is an important aspect of future projections of snow water resources and rain-on-snow events
Two-dimensional liquid water flow through snow at the plot scale in continental snowpacks: simulations and field data comparisons
Seasonal components of freshwater runoff in Glacier Bay, Alaska: diverse spatial patterns and temporal change
Kori L. Mooney and Ryan W. Webb
The Cryosphere, 19, 2507–2526, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2507-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2507-2025, 2025
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This study observes the movement of snow water equivalence (SWE) during mid-winter surface melt and spring snowmelt periods. We observed that the south-facing slope that experienced mid-winter surface melt events showed meltwater flowing downslope through the snow. The north-facing slope saw a similar redistribution of meltwater during the spring snowmelt period.
Bertrand Cluzet, Jan Magnusson, Louis Quéno, Giulia Mazzotti, Rebecca Mott, and Tobias Jonas
The Cryosphere, 18, 5753–5767, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5753-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5753-2024, 2024
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We use novel wet-snow maps from Sentinel-1 to evaluate simulations of a snow-hydrological model over Switzerland. These data are complementary to available in situ snow depth observations as they capture a broad diversity of topographic conditions. Wet-snow maps allow us to detect a delayed melt onset in the model, which we resolve thanks to an improved parametrization. This paves the way to further evaluation, calibration, and data assimilation using wet-snow maps.
Benjamin Bouchard, Daniel F. Nadeau, Florent Domine, Nander Wever, Adrien Michel, Michael Lehning, and Pierre-Erik Isabelle
The Cryosphere, 18, 2783–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2783-2024, 2024
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Observations over several winters at two boreal sites in eastern Canada show that rain-on-snow (ROS) events lead to the formation of melt–freeze layers and that preferential flow is an important water transport mechanism in the sub-canopy snowpack. Simulations with SNOWPACK generally show good agreement with observations, except for the reproduction of melt–freeze layers. This was improved by simulating intercepted snow microstructure evolution, which also modulates ROS-induced runoff.
Huadong Wang, Xueliang Zhang, Pengfeng Xiao, Tao Che, Zhaojun Zheng, Liyun Dai, and Wenbo Luan
The Cryosphere, 17, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, 2023
Short summary
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The geographically and temporally weighted neural network (GTWNN) model is constructed for estimating large-scale daily snow density by integrating satellite, ground, and reanalysis data, which addresses the importance of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and a nonlinear relationship between snow density and impact variables, as well as allows us to understand the spatiotemporal pattern and heterogeneity of snow density in different snow periods and snow cover regions in China from 2013 to 2020.
Eole Valence, Michel Baraer, Eric Rosa, Florent Barbecot, and Chloe Monty
The Cryosphere, 16, 3843–3860, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3843-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3843-2022, 2022
Short summary
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The internal properties of the snow cover shape the annual hygrogram of northern and alpine regions. This study develops a multi-method approach to measure the evolution of snowpack internal properties. The snowpack hydrological property evolution was evaluated with drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. In addition, the combination of GPR observations and time domain reflectometry measurements is shown to be able to be adapted to monitor the snowpack moisture over winter.
Michael Schirmer, Adam Winstral, Tobias Jonas, Paolo Burlando, and Nadav Peleg
The Cryosphere, 16, 3469–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022, 2022
Short summary
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Rain is highly variable in time at a given location so that there can be both wet and dry climate periods. In this study, we quantify the effects of this natural climate variability and other sources of uncertainty on changes in flooding events due to rain on snow (ROS) caused by climate change. For ROS events with a significant contribution of snowmelt to runoff, the change due to climate was too small to draw firm conclusions about whether there are more ROS events of this important type.
Ryan W. Webb, Keith Jennings, Stefan Finsterle, and Steven R. Fassnacht
The Cryosphere, 15, 1423–1434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021, 2021
Short summary
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We simulate the flow of liquid water through snow and compare results to field experiments. This process is important because it controls how much and how quickly water will reach our streams and rivers in snowy regions. We found that water can flow large distances downslope through the snow even after the snow has stopped melting. Improved modeling of snowmelt processes will allow us to more accurately estimate available water resources, especially under changing climate conditions.
Ryan L. Crumley, David F. Hill, Jordan P. Beamer, and Elizabeth R. Holzenthal
The Cryosphere, 13, 1597–1619, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1597-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1597-2019, 2019
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In this study we investigate the historical (1980–2015) and projection scenario (2070–2099) components of freshwater runoff to Glacier Bay, Alaska, using a modeling approach. We find that many of the historically snow-dominated watersheds in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve may transition towards rainfall-dominated hydrographs in a projection scenario under RCP 8.5 conditions. The changes in timing and volume of freshwater entering Glacier Bay will affect bay ecology and hydrochemistry.
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Short summary
The spatial variability in snow depth in mountains is driven by interactions between topography, wind, precipitation and radiation. In applications such as weather, climate and hydrological predictions, this is accounted for by the fractional snow-covered area describing the fraction of the ground surface covered by snow. We developed a new description for model grid cell sizes larger than 200 m. An evaluation suggests that the description performs similarly well in most geographical regions.
The spatial variability in snow depth in mountains is driven by interactions between topography,...
